Boomers: Villians or Victims in the political year

You can't turn the TV on or open a news article without hearing about the future of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.  In the middle of this is the "Boomer" generation, 1946-1964.  I recently had a very interesting discussion with some friends in academia about them.  Are the Boomers victims or villians in this whole political debate?  

Villian:  You can read the papers everyday to see the headlines of "The largest Generation,"  and how marketing gears the majority of products towards them.  The government is continually doing studies on their financial impact on spending and resources.  Articles have even been written talking about an upcoming generational resource war.  The book 2030 by Albert Brooks even gives a dark and not so promising future of America because of the Boomers.

Victim:  Are we "Drinking the Kool-Aide?"   How is this generation really different than other large generations that have aged?  There has always been a strain on benefit resources when economic times are hard.  Could the Boomers be a scape goat for poor government policy and management?  Do Boomers really take away resources from younger generations, such as school children?  Studies show that retirees are just as likely to vote yes to school referendums.  They want to continue to support their communities.

People can decide for themselves on the answer of victim or villian.  The government has decided on their answer and as the national and state policy makers move forward this election year it is up to us to make sure we are paying attention to their stances on these critical issues of aging.